Man convicted in Boulder Creek dog abuse case sues county, newspapers

SANTA CRUZ -- A Boulder Creek man convicted of mistreating more than 50 dogs and puppies has a filed a suit against Santa Cruz County, the Sentinel, the San Francisco Chronicle and several other entities. He's seeking $5 million in damages.

Robert Brunette was convicted of multiple counts of animal abuse in 2010, stemming from what authorities said was a breeding operation. He was sentenced to a year in County Jail.

Officers from the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter seized 51 dogs during a period of several months in 2008 from Brunette's Deer Creek Road property. Another 17 puppies were born after the dogs were taken to the shelter.

Brunette filed the civil suit against the county earlier this year. It has now been amended to include as defendants the Sentinel, the San Jose Mercury News, the papers' parent company, MediaNews Group; the San Francisco Chronicle and its parent company, Hearst Newspapers.

His suit accuses the newspapers of defamation, arguing "the defendants used the plaintiff's identity, without his consent, to publicly defame him for their advantage."

Under state law, defamation refers to the publication of a statement of fact that is "false, unprivileged, has a natural tendency to injure or which causes special damage." A claim of defamation must prove that the defendant's fault in publishing the information amounted to at least negligence.

The state's statute of limitations on defamation claims is one year.

County officials and the papers also are accused of invading his privacy.

"The publication of the plaintiff's private life was so much that it caused public hatred that was more than any person should have to endure," Brunette wrote.